Fate

By Shivang Sud

To reach my destination, I took the public bus,

It was late night, and I was in a fuss.

The bus was vacant, almost everyone was out,

Just the driver, me and a man who put me in doubt.

Do you believe in fate? He then turned and asked.

I was afraid to answer, so kept quiet and passed.

Strangers in the night bus weren’t very rare,

But this man did give me a big scare.

Do you believe in fate? He asked again.

I still didn’t answer, blood slowed down in my vein.

I kept silent and the engine kept running,

The bus kept moving and the earth kept turning.

Then his hand reached for his hood,

The man pulled it off, and then slowly stood.

The bus seemed cold, lights started to flicker,

And I started to wonder, could this get any bitter?

Then the bus stopped and the man started walking to leave,

But what he meant by the question I still couldn’t perceive.

Because I do, he stopped and replied,

He was surely different, is what I had realised.s

The man left, and my journey resumed,

But what happened next, I never assumed.

The man had left and I thought what a relief,

But the driver stopped and shouted, thief! thief! thief!

It wasn’t just one, but an entire gang,

They together fired in the air, bang! bang! bang!

I responded to their threats and hence stepped down,

They then ordered me to drop everything and then turn around.

But as the thieves looked at me, and their jaws dropped,

I don’t know what they saw, but they all stopped.

They stopped focusing on me and puled themselves together instead,

And then they all turned around and immediately fled.

I stood curious and wondered what was going on,

The night was quiet and the thieves were gone.

Then I felt suspicious and hence turned around,

It was the same clumsy man who I found.

I thanked him and told him that it was too late,

But he asked me a question, do you believe in fate?

Yes, I do believe in fate, thanking him I replied,

Then he continued on his, and I continued on my side.

Then I took another bus, and finally arrived at my house

Went straight to the fridge and took a quick browse

I relaxed on my couch, and sipped my soda can,

But then I started to wonder, was he even a man?

By Shivang Sud